More underage prostitution charges laid against Halifax woman, two more victims found

HALIFAX - Police say a Halifax woman charged with pimping a young girl and using her residence as a bawdy house faces 18 new underage prostitution charges after two more victims were found.

On Feb.21, Florence Muriel Young, 36, was charged with 13 offences including counseling someone under 18 into prostitution, and hiding someone under 18 in a “bawdy house.”

Police spokesman Const. Pierre Bourdages said investigators have located two more victims in their mid-teens, and laid 18 more charges against Young on Monday.

“We’re glad to see that we’re able to bring these young girls out safely,” Bourdages said.

Police were led to find both girls following Young’s arrest and the public attention around the case, he added.

The new charges include sexual exploitation of a young person, living off the avails of underage prostitution, counseling someone under 18 into prostitution, Internet luring, invitation to sexual touching and exercising control over an underage person.

Young appeared in court Monday and her case was set over until March 11 for a show-cause hearing, according to Chris Hansen of the Public Prosecution Service.

Hansen said Young will also appear in court on March 4 for a pre-trial conference on five charges of robbery, assault, uttering threats to cause death, and two counts of breach of probation.

Bourdages said police “just don’t know” how many girls could be involved with underage prostitution in Halifax, whether connected to Young or not, but believe there are more victims out there.

“We do hope that by showing we have rescued three young girls … this will help people give us the information we need to locate additional ones,” he said.